Standpoint Upgrades Tesla Motors Inc Given the Recent Fall in the Stock

Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares are falling 3.5% in pre-market trading Friday, as investors stunned by British voters’ unexpected move to exit the European Union and British Prime Minister’s subsequent announcement that he would step down.

In reaction, Standpoint analyst Ronnie Moas took this opportunity to upgrade the stock from Sell to Hold, with a price target of $180, which implies a downside of 8% from current levels.

Moas wrote, “Telsa shares broke below $190 in pre-market trading and are now $100 (35%) off the 52-week high; down 28% since my April 7 Sell recommendation. The shares remain over-valued by more than 20%. That being said, many investors, who believe in (and trust) Elon Musk and his LONG TERM vision, with a 5-10 year time horizon may see 50%-100% upside from the current quote — while those who are short may start covering at this price level. The deal with SCTY could get cancelled, and there are other surprises that could support and stop the freefall in TSLA shares.”

“I stress that TSLA remains over-valued and extremely risky, but given the recent collapse in TSLA shares I can no longer leave my lowest rating attached to this name. Even if TSLA dropped to $140, the 52-week low, I would not be tempted to look at this from the long side,” the analyst concluded.

According to TipRanks.com, which measures analysts’ and bloggers’ success rate based on how their calls perform, analyst Ronnie Moas has a yearly average return of 4.5% and a 67% success rate. Moas has a 14% average return when recommending TSLA, and is ranked #94 out of 3980 analysts.

Out of the 26 analysts polled by TipRanks, 12 rate Tesla Motors stock a Buy, 7 rate the stock a Hold and 7 recommend Sell. With a return potential of 39.3%, the stock’s consensus target price stands at $273.52.